26-07-2025
Who are the candidates for NFLPA interim executive director? No one knows
The NFL Players Association needs an executive director. Before that, the NFLPA needs an interim executive director.
At this point, no one knows who the more immediate hire will be. Or when it will happen.
The internal document obtained by ESPN that became the centerpiece of a report regarding potential criminal investigation mentions five potential, but not actual, candidates.
Three currently work for the NFLPA: senior director of player affairs Lester Archambeau, chief player officers Don Davis, and chief operating officer Teri Smith. The other two are former NFLPA presidents — Domonique Foxworth and Eric Winston.
ESPN also reports that former executive director DeMaurice Smith could be a candidate to return and to get things under contract. Per the same report, however, Smith isn't interested.
It's still not known who's interested in the job and, more importantly, the persons in whom the NFLPA is interested. Who's currently running things? Who's making decisions? Who's vetting candidates for the interim job? Who will be negotiating with them?
The messier the situation becomes, the more expensive it could become to find someone competent to fix it.
We still think they should contact former (as of Friday) Packers CEO Mark Murphy. He has run a multi-billion-dollar football operation for 17 years, he played in the NFL, he served as a player rep, and he was employed by the NFLPA after he retired from the NFL, both as an assistant executive director and as a vice president. He also helped negotiate the 2011 CBA on behalf of the NFL.
He'd be the perfect candidate to restore order to the union — and to strike fear in the hearts of his recently former business partners.
